Evening Star Newspaper, July 12, 1931, Page 76

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. (‘: JULY 12 1931. ° — et S o Old Durham Church to Celebrate Bicentennia Famed Maryland Shrine Was Founded Year of the Birth of George Washington and Plans Are Being Made to Observe Its 200th Anniversary Next Year—Durham Church Records Are of Greater Historic Value Than Those of Old Pohick Church, Va., Says Manuscript Department Head of Library of Congress, BY VIRGINIA W. PRICE. LD DURHAM CHURCH of South- ern Maryland came into being in 1732, the year of the birth of George Washington, and plans ar> now going forward for the celebration next year of the Dur- ham Church bicenicnnial, when it is expected that pilgrims from many corners of the globe, particularly those now scattered over the earth whose forbears figured in the early history of Maryland, will journey to this little shrine. The fact that the founders of Durham par- tsh were among th2 founders of the American Nation led the first assistant librarian of Con- gress Lo secure for the Libraiy a photostatic copy of the Durham Church records, covering the period from Colonial days to Easter, 1924. When the head of the manuscripts department of the Congressional Library recommended that the Libra:ty sl d go to the expense af procuring these records, he declared, “The Li- bMary has a precedent for the photostating of churcih records in the case of Old Pohick Church, Va., which are doubiless of greater sentimcntal intsrest, but of much less historic value than :he records of Old Durham Church.” The history of old Durham parich and the eountry surrounding it is a romantic one—of land and people alike who have known a for- mer glory. Durham patish still tugs at the heart strings of many now far removed from the heart of Maryland, but who a quarter or a half century ago trailed by means of horse- drawn vehicles the washed-out roads to wor- ship at the old brick church. Situated picturesquely amidst fine old woods, whose diznified and beautiful trees have not been cut and sold in order that the bare ne- cessities cf life might be procured, the illness relieved, or a child sent away to school so that he might develop his proud heritage of men- tal and spiritual qualities—the fate of much of the woods in this section of Maryland—old Durham parish stands a bulwark against time, a rmonument to the ideals of Southern Maryland, a testimonial to a portion of the Nation's aristoctacy and wealth that once found solace in har pews. Many of the doscendants of those first set- tlers. who landei on the shores of Maryland on the Ark and the Dove, still trail the roads on Sunday morning and still worship in the pews of Durham, which have been occupied by people of the same names for generations. The roads leading to Durham now are not so washoc-out as in former days, many of them being hard-graveled or paved, and nearly all of the communicants come by automobiles. These innovations, however, only seem_to em- phasize the “better days” once enjoyed by this pection of the State. ‘HE history is one of early struggles and early ! glory, of years of slavery, when the negro peon danced and sang, worked the land and cut the wood, was clothed and fed by his mas- ter and tended when he wus ill, was beaten, foved and sent to church, many of them in the old days before the Civil War occupying the balcony seats of old Durham. Following the Civil War “land poor” were Wwords in common use, and applicable to nearly all of the former well-to-do country gentlemen of that section, whose forbears had for the most part come to this country registered as #gentlemen.” It was this class which made up almost entirely the early congregations of Purham parish, and it is their descendants who worship in her pews today. Charles Sounty was created in 1658. It was divided in 1692 into four parishes, Port To- bacco, William and Mary, Durham or Nan- femi and Piscataway. It is believed that the first land taken up in the parish was that granted by Lord Baltimore to Gov. Stone. This land is described as “lying west ©of Nanjemi Creek on the Potomac.” Gov. Stone was buried on the manor, and his last s&Ring place is still pointed out to those who wisit the farm known as Cherry-Field. Dur- ham was, in the main, a Church of England pettlement, and for many years was considered the aris‘ocracy part of Charles County. The estates were very large, as is evidenced by the fact that in 1696, 40 years after the creation of Charles County, the records show only 175 taxables within the limits of this parish. The population of the country as a whole was at that time sparse. In 1693 the taxables of the entire county of Chdrles were approximately » showing a population of bt from 1,500 & 2.000. ! Although the present Durbam Church was . @rected in 1732 by Patson Macoetwire, who De- S ] "sterior of church. came rector in 1711 and served until his death in 1742, the original log church on the identi- cal site was begun in 1692, 40 years earlier. At this time the Maryland Colony ‘was divided into 30 original parishes, and the Episcopal Church, then known as the Church of Eng- land, was organized the state church of Maryland. Bounded on the west and south by the Po- tomac River and on the east by the Port To- bacco Creek, Durham parish, still comprising approximately 500 square miles, is about 50 miles from Washington. For generations Durham was the only church building in the entire southwest section of Charles County. The records show that an act of assembly was passed in 1732 authorizing the erection of a new church to replace the old log structure, for which a tax of 32.000 pounds of tobacco was ordered to be levied upon the parishioners. Tobacco was used as currency during the Co- lonial era of Maryland, and up to the Revolu- tion freeholders were taxed “40 pounds per poll” for the support of the church. Tobacco being practically the only currency of the Province before th> American Revolu- tion, all business transactions were based upcn its use. It is recorded that, “Debts, rents, fines, salaries, levies all were paid in tobacco, and in tobacco all accounts were kept. As the value of the staple continued to decline this became a serious grievance and endangered the welfare and almost the existence of the colcny.” To- bacco remained in use, however, and vessels plowed the Potomac, stopping at plantation after plantation along the water front to load the all-impertant commodity. “Planters who lived back from the water brought down their tobacco by ‘rolling roads,’ where the cask with an axle through it, and an ox or horse in a pair of pole shafts, was at once the load and the vehicle.” In 1732—at abcut the time the erec- tion of the “brick church” was authorized— tobacco became the legal tender in Maryland at one penny a pound. RADITION says of Durham, as it does of almost every old brick building in Maryland and Virginia, that the bricks necessary for its construction “were brought over from England.” The reliability c¢f these stories, however, re- mains in doubt. One writer on the subject de- clared, “It is doubtful whether a single building was built of imported bricks. They were all made on the spot. Old brick houses are always found on or near a clay soil.” The first tax of 32,000 pounds of tobatco proved insufficient to complete the erection of the church, and in 1736 the assembly authoriz- ed the vestry to make an additional levy of 16,000 pounds of tocbacco for this purpose. ‘The church appears to have been finished in about 1742, and it is believed that the venerable Parson Macconchie experienced the satisfaction before his death in February of that year of officiating in the new “brick church,” which was, indeed, & handsome edifice for its day and for whose construction he was so largely re- sronsible. . [ In 1772 there were two LoODAcCCO Wareiouses in Durhzm Parish. One was on the land of Richard Harrison in Nanjemoy, and the other was on the land of Willlam Smallwood in Chickamuxon., During the Colonial period the warehouse inspectors were appointed by the vestry of the church. How long these ware- houses remained in existence is unknown, but the Nanjemoy Warehouse is referred to as late as 1810 in the Bock of Records, commonly called the vestry book, which has been placed for the purpose of safety in the diocesan library in Baltimore. The Rev. Henry Fendall was pastor at Dur- ham during these trying days of the Revolu- tionary period in the American Colonies. The Book of Records under date of November 15, 1775. makes reference to “his magesties Cus- toms,” and later under date of September 5, 1776, to a certificate of the election of tobacco inspectors, addressed “To the Governor for the time being, or the Convention, or the Council of Safety.” This was the last vestry meeting attended by Mr. Fendall, and in November, 1776, the old establishment terminated with the act removing the pay of the clergy. Al- though believed to have been a stanch advo- cate of American independence, Mr. Fendall met the same fate of the other clergy. He Is said to have been one of the best read clergy- mn of his day and is referred to as a person of distinction. On September 6, 1779, the vestry resolved to raise a subscription to defray the expense of the parish and a committee was appointed to go to the Glebe and determine the condition of the lands. In that same year the Legislature passed an act to establish select vestries, and vested in them, as trustees, all the property which had formerly bclonged to the respective parishes when they were a part of the Church of Eng- land. It was the idea of these v es at first to “have all the Protestant inhabitants” taxed in order to support the church. This idea, needless to say, was discarded, and subscrip- tions were taken instead. In October, 1779, the following advertisement appeared in the newspapers of Annapolis and Baltimore: “Twenty thousand pounds of Crop Tcbacco annually will be given 25 a Salary to any clergyman of the Church of England of a fair character, and who can give Satisfac- tion as a Preacher, for the term of four years, by the Vestry of Durham Parish, which hath besides, a Glebe that rents for Two Hhds. of Crop Tobacco per annum.” It was in response to this advertisement that the Rev. Walter Hanson Harrison came to Dur- ham, where he remained for a period of 18 years, from 1779 to 1797. *“Parson Harrison” rented out the Glebe lands and lived on his own estate, “Holly Springs,” which is still a fine old place in the parish. The rector’s eldest brother, Robert Hanson Harrison, was aide de camp to Gen. Washington and afterward judge of the Supreme Court. Another brother, William Harrison, was a member of Congress. Parson Harrison was & bachelor. CHNTG) SHNT AN Exterior of Old Durham Church. URING Parson Harrison's rectorship it be- came necessary to restore the church, which through neglect and lack of repeirs was for a time almost in ruins. In the year 1791, 271 men of the congregation, whose names are still on record, ccntributed to the restoration fund 192 pounds in money and 33,000 pounds of tobacco. The work of reconstruction, requiring two years, wes completed in September, 1793. At this time the side walls were raised, secend- story windows were added and galleries with pews were placed along the south side and at the ends. An outside, inclosed brick stairway, leading to the gallery, was also erected. It was in 1809, 16 years after the second restoration of Durham Church, znd during the rectorship of Rev. Williim Duncan, that the church was visited for the first time by a bishop. In this connecti-n Bishop Claggett of Maryland reports at the next convention: “On Sunday, 24th of September, 1809, I reached the Parish Church of Durham in Charles County. This is a brick church and in good condition. The perish has an attentive vestry, and a faithful and laborious rector. The congregation was large and remarkably atten- tive to its several duties. I consecrated the church, preached the sermon and confirmed 80 persens.” It is interesting to note that the vestry fre- quently had difficulty in the assignment of p:ws in the church. The clerk, whose desk reposed in front of the pulpit. was paid for his services and was an important official bcth in England and in America during the eighteenth century. As prayer books were both rare and costly, the clerk generally read for the people all but the most familiar responses. It is of record that at Durham all disputes were finally settled by the passing of a resolution, “That all ancient claims be abclished and forever relinquished and that all subscribers for the repairs of the church are vested with an equ:zl right in pews of said church.” The third turning point in the history of Durham came during the pastorate of the Rev. Robert Prout, who became rector in 1826, and whose remains rest in the shadow of the Old Brick Church, which was the cbject of his de- votion and the scene of his labors for a good half century. In 1840 Mr. Prout accertsd & call to the rectorship of St. Paul's Church in Calvert County, but returned to Durham in 1847. In the middle of Mr. Prout's rect:rship Dur- ham is again shown to be badly in need of re- pairs. “It pitied all to see it so,” the records of 1843 tell us. Voluntary subscriptions were taken for the purpose of restoraticn, but the sum collected lacked a necessary $200, when the ladies of the parish stepped in and by their own efforts met the deficit. Other records of 1843 pay the following tribute to the labors of the wcmen who worshiped at Durham: “Despair had nearly paralyzed our efforts, and we sat brooding in despondency over the desolation of our Zion without a cheering ray to dissipate the gloom. Then the ladics of the parish stepped forward with their character- istic energy and zeal. “Therefore, resolved: That we are mainly indebted to the ladies of the parish for the sum of $200 placed at our disposal through their instrumentality, and that without their co-operation and energetic support, this ven- erable sanctuary, which has stood for more than a century as a monument of the piety and liberality of our ancestors, must have fallen into ruins. “Resolved un:znimously: That the thanks of the vestry are unfeignedly due to the ladies of this parish for their indefatigable industry; thereby dispelling the dark gloom of despond- ency which had overshadowed our parish, and bidding Zion once more rear her drooping head.” At that time the whole interior of the church was reconstructed and arranged practically as one sees it today. MONG the interesting gleanings from the Book of Records or “Vestry Book™ for Dur- ham Church appears the following: “August 20, 1791. Ordered that Gen. Smali- wood prepare and prefer a petition to the gen- eral assembly at their next meeting, on behalf of the parishioners of Durham Parish, to pass an act authorizing the inhabitants of said par- ish to meet and choose a vestry for the present year, and that he solicit the representatives Contiuued on Fifteenth Page . { (U e v R